During China’s National Day holiday, the “Wildman” NPC project in the Maya area of Happy Valley in Beijing attracted many visitors. A university student who works part-time as a “Wildman” mentioned that the visitors were feeding too much, to the point where they couldn’t eat anymore, and they felt “too tired”.
Reported on October 4 by various media outlets, the Maya area in Beijing’s Happy Valley features the “Wildman” NPC (non-player characters in games, often used in amusement parks to interact with visitors) as its main attraction. The diverse “Wildman” NPCs not only play a central role in the live performance “Mayan Catastrophe”, but also engage in close interactions with visitors throughout the park.
Inside a scenic outdoor theater made of wooden fences and small cabins, actors dressed as “Wildmen” perform and dance. Many children come with snacks to feed the “Wildmen” in front of the grass huts, and in return, they receive corresponding vouchers that can be collected to upgrade games or exchange for prizes.
Some of these “Wildmen” are university students. According to a report by Fast Technology, besides a special group of Wa actors, many of the “Wildmen” responsible for welcoming and accepting “feeding” near the grass huts are part-time university students.
One university student “Wildman” shared, “I am just here for a part-time job, working 5 hours a day. But today, the visitors were too enthusiastic, feeding too much that I couldn’t eat, it was exhausting.” With the high unemployment rate in China, finding part-time jobs is not easy.
According to the official recruitment information released by Happy Valley, applicants for the position of “Wildman” must be over 18 years old, outgoing, expressive, and indicate that they have a “skin-friendly to makeup” and “need to wear contact lenses for nearsightedness”. The interview process includes a segment for candidates to showcase their creativity without any props. The main responsibility of the “Wildmen” is to participate in the large-scale live performance “Mayan Catastrophe”. The audience area is divided into sections such as “soaked area”, “thunder area”, and “splashing water area” for visitors to choose their viewing positions.
Beijing Happy Valley is located at Xiaowuji Beilu in Chaoyang District, east of the East Fourth Ring Road. It is a large cultural theme park that opened in July 2006, covering an area of 560,000 square meters.
Due to the severe employment situation in mainland China and the difficulty in finding jobs, there have been instances in Hebei where 2000 people competed for 10 part-time “Wildman” positions.
Several mainland Chinese media outlets reported that on August 6, Qinhuangdao Jifa Agricultural Dream Kingdom in Hebei recruited 10 university students to work part-time as “Wildmen”, and within a short time of recruitment announcement, over 2000 people had applied. Mr. Ma, the person in charge of the “Wildman” project in the area, mentioned that the project was a temporary one during the peak summer travel season, hence employing university students part-time with working hours from 9:30 AM to 8:30 PM.
In July, university students in Changsha, Hunan, worked part-time as “Wildmen” in a scenic area, earning a monthly salary exceeding 5000 yuan. The students mentioned that they couldn’t speak human language while on duty, so they created their own “Wildman language”. One “Wildman” even stated that out of 3000 applicants, 30 were selected, and now they could eat their fill every day just by accepting the feeds.